Thousands of Hungarian judges, court staff, and supporters marched to the Ministry of Justice in Budapest on Saturday, demanding judicial independence, freedom of expression for judges, and improved pay.
The rally shed more light on the growing tensions between Hungary’s judiciary and Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s nationalist government, which has faced criticism from the European Union over the independence of its courts.
The protests were fueled by a November agreement between the government and three main judicial representative bodies, which tied salary increases to broad-based reforms.
Political pundits however, are arguing that the National Judicial Council, an independent body with legal and budgetary autonomy, was pressured into signing the document hastily and without proper consultation.
Judge Zoltan Endredy, one of the organizers, stated,
“That was the first time we thought we should organize the judges, to show that we are not a chain of butchers who can be told what to do, but the third branch of government.”
Calls for Judicial Independence and Higher Salaries
Demonstrators demanded the need to protect judicial independence and grant judges more rights to express their dissatisfaction. They also called for higher pay to address the high turnover of court staff in central Hungary and Budapest.
Judge Rita Kiszely, a protest attendee, said, “Our first cause is to protect judicial independence. We are not saying it has been eliminated. However, there are signs that it is under threat.” She also criticized the lack of consultation with judicial bodies on key legislation.
Earlier this month, Gergely Gulyas, Prime Minister Orban’s chief of staff, stated that the constitution guarantees the independence of Hungary’s judiciary. He announced plans to raise judges’ average salaries to nearly 2.3 million forints ($5,974) by 2027, a 50% increase over two years. Court employees’ salaries are also set to increase by 80-100%.
